In best Casino Royale style, the invite contained a single, custom LV poker chip. Not being much of a gambler myself, the idea of having a casino-themed launch party, showcasing the new Damier Graphite line of bags, got me really excited. Nothing better than sipping on a dry Martini, gazing at new Vuitton goods and maybe winning something at the Blackjack table.

Walking in the door, we were greeted by two lovely ladies, each handing us a few fake $100 bills and encouraging us to lose it all at the Blackjack, Roulette or Poker tables. Refreshments were courtesy of Hennessy and Mo??t, little hors dauvres were spread to the guests by a dozen of ridiculously good-looking guys (which both Megs and Shannon could barel keep their eyes off of!). The new Damier Graphite line was represented in vast quantities, in many shapes and styles, from small leather goods to the big travel Roadster bag. As you’d expect for South Florida, the crowd was diverse and posh, everyone appeared to enjoy themselves tremendously.

I know we did! We did not get to gamble, the few tables’ seats were high in demand. We rather enjoyed the free alcoholic refreshments that came in many varieties, Megs’ got a beautiful new Vuitton scarf. We also got to meet and chat with the store manager Xiomara Liopis, who I would like to thank for inviting us to a fun casino night out. And many thanks to the Bal Harbour staff, as well!

So, I couldn’t help but ask myself: if I were to swing a rag, what rag would I swing? And today, I would swing the Louis Vuitton Candy Scarf/rag. It has a fun, pop-art sensibility to it that reminds me of the jelly-filled jewelry I used to have as a little kid in the 80s. That jewelry had glitter and other tiny, shiny treasures floating in the brightly-colored goo inside, the the arrangement of the LV logos and stars in this scarf look like someone has squeezed all the floating goodness towards the edges. It’s casual, glam, and a lot of fun – perfect for the type of rag-swinging that TI seems to be advocating. Buy through eLuxury for $340. Find a Louis Vuitton Product on sale

Eluxury promises that this set includes three “luxurious” decks of cards, so please, help me brainstorm in the comments – exactly how does one make playing cards luxurious? The first thing that came to my mind was having the symbols ever so carefully covered in close-cropped mink, making them slightly furry. How would you do it? Buy through eLuxury for $105. Find a Louis Vuitton Product on sale

So what’s this got to do with handbags, you say? Well, today is opening day of the 2008 college football season, and although most of the games aren’t until Saturday, a few will be televised tonight and kick off (literally) the happiest 12 weeks of the year for this sports fan. Not only that, but this time of year brings about an odd dressing conundrum for all female football fans that support schools in the South.

Because here, you can’t just wear *anything* to a game. We dress up for football like some people dress up for church – and we do it in our team’s colors. Some schools (particularly those where orange figures prominently, bleh) have a harder time of it than others, and I like to think that my school chose wisely. I am an alumni of The University of Georgia, and our colors are red and black. I’ve bought an untold number of dresses, pairs of shoes, and pieces of jewelry in red and black, thinking, Great! I can wear this on game day! In reality, there are only 6 or 7 home games per year, and I have more sundresses and red jewelry than I could ever hope to wear to them.

Not everyone understands the desire to dress up for a football game, but in the South, it’s a tradition – my mother and father did it decades before me (at Auburn and UGA, respectively), and it’s a custom that I’m proud to carry on. It harkens back to an era when social events, including football games, were worthy of proper dressing, and also an era where women didn’t go outside in sweatpants with words on their bottoms. Obviously, this tradition was made for me.

One thing that’s very important for a put-together look, as all of you know, is a great bag, and it’s no less important on game days. A good, functional, fashionable bag can make or break the day since keeping your things with you and safe while traipsing from tailgate to tailgate is essential if you want to eventually make it inside the game (tickets! Guard the tickets!).

My personal pick? The Louis Vuitton Epi Leather Bowling Montaigne PM in red (Louis Vuitton is more common at southern football games than you’d think). Epi leather is rigid and durable, and the bag would probably be weighty enough to use to smack an opposing fan in the head. The PM size would be small enough to tuck safely under the bleacher and the zip-top closure would keep things safely inside where the bag to tip over or fall off a seat (because if you lose your ticket, the world ends). And the color? Pure, Bulldawg red. Buy through eLuxury for $1500.

So to those that may have never considered the vagaries of choosing a handbag for football season, happy shopping.

And above all, GO DAWGS! Find a Louis Vuitton Handbag on sale at

Generally, I dislike Louis Vuitton Monogram Denim series. I believe LV would be better off reinventing their bag shapes and using the classic monogram canvas, instead of overdoing the whole fruit thing and making their bags look like Marc Jacobs threw up on them. If you dig the denim, you can check Vuitton.com for more of their Monogram Denim bags… for me they mean just wasted space on the blog front page. And for price, this series with croc trim that goes for about $4200, excluding the sidekick — that goes for another $350. The series with croc trim is limited to 200 pieces. Find a Louis Vuitton Handbag on sale 

Louis Vuitton is proud of its tradition and decorum since its inception but it always adds some especial design on its collection. Takashi Murakami brought his exuberant art to Louis Vuitton with the release of their limited Monogram Pandaseries. Availability for the US had been very limited thus far, but finally you can get your hands on one of those rather extravagant LV creations. For $585, you can grab the LV Monogram Panda Trotteur, for example (left). The bag features the Monogram Panda canvas with natural cowhide trim and golden metal hardware, and an adjustable leather shoulder/cross-body strap. The leather corners and bottom are reinforced for long life span. A smaller version of the Panda’ized classic Monogram is the Louis Vuitton Monogram Panda Pochette Accessoires for $345. Featuring the same materials, this pochette sports a removable leather strap with 5″ drop which can be linked to the D-ring found in many Louis Vuitton accessories. Find a Louis Vuitton Handbag on sale 

A reliable source at eLUXURY informed me that a new shipment of limited edition Louis Vuitton Stephen Sprouse Collection bags arrived just yesterday at their warehouse, meaning that today is the day to score. Bookmark this page and scan for new listings throughout the day.

Like the previous limited graffiti collection, this one will go off the shelves like hot Glühwein on a chilly German Winter night. If you are not fortunate to pick one up in your local LV boutique, get it online at the trusted source.

Who ever said that eLUXURY was dead? The merchandise will keep on rolling in and out until June 30th. Bet on it.